Hen-house



(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-*Sheet 1. S. HARBAUGH.

EEN HOUSE. No. 412,500.

Patented Oct. 8, 1889.

limb.

Irzy. 2

ATTORNEY NA PETERS. Phowllllngnpbpr. Walh'mgnn. D. C

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

VSOLOMON HARBAUGH, OF GENEVA, NEBRASKA.

HEN-HousE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters 'Patent No. 412,500, dated ctober 8, 1889.

' Application iiled April 19, 1889. Serial No. 307,892. ('.D model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SoLQMoN HAREAUGH, of Geneva, in the county of Fillmore and State of Nebraska,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hen-Houses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a new and improved hen-house, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my new and improved hen-house. Y Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same with parts of the outer walls broken away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hen-house with the longitudinal hinged door partly open, and Fig. 4. is a sectional detail view through the said door audits lever.

The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Referring to the several parts by letter, A A indicate the ends of the hen-house, and B B the sides of the same,D indicating the roof. The end A is formed with the entrance-door or opening E for the fowls at about the height shown from the ground, and at the bottom of this entrance is a fiat platform F, having supports f f and stairways G G, consisting of inclined boards having crossstrips leading up to each end of this platform from the ground. The hens passing through the entrance E step upon the top step of a stairway composed of horizontal boards I-I and vertical partitionboards I and perpendicular rearboards J. The transverse boards I, besides acting as supports to the steps, divide the space between the steps into boxes, the end partitionboards having openings i and the rear boards openings j opening into the boxes. It will thus be seen that the stairway also forms or comprises boxes which can be used for hen-nests.

K indicates a stairway which leads from the top of the stair-boxes to the upper iioor. This iioor is supported on joists L, and consists of the wide boards M, which are laid upon and across the joists side by side, but are not secured in any way to the joists. Along the joints or meeting edges of the wide boards M are laid narrow boards N. At each end of the floor extend up the V-shaped supports O O for the roosts The rear support O is secured against that end of the henhouse,while the front support O is supported at its top by a support or hanger l?, running to the peak of the roof. The V-shaped supports O O are notched at o on their upper edges, and the ends of the roosting-bars fit removably in` these notches. It will be seen that by this arrangement of the roosts the hens can jump upon them without one roost .interfering with or being in the way of the 6o other.

It will be seen that the roosts (and also the floor, as hereinafter described) can be easily and readily removed, thus making it convenient to clean, scrub, or whitewash the entire house and all its part-s and rid or cleanse it of lice or filth of any kind that is liable to breed or creater disease among the fowls.`

The henhouse is provided with windows Q and one or more large doors R, by which the 7o owner enters the house to clean it, remove the eggs, '&c.

Each side of the house is provided above the level of the upper iioor with a longitudinal hinged door S, running the length of the floor and hinged at its upper edge, so that it can be raised and swung upward. To the middle of the inner side of this door is pivoted, by a screw passing through its center,

a lever T. When the door S is opened and 8o swung back, the lever T is turned so that its narrow end t slips back of a strip U,which is fastened to the under side of the projecting edge of the roof, thus holding the door By turning the lever with its wide open. thick end down and lowering the hinged door this thick end will hold the door partly open for ventilation, and at the same time the door will keep out the storm, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. cured by turn-buttons V V.

The droppings from the fowls on the roosts fall on the upper floor, and to clear the floor of these droppings, which are a valuable -fertilizer, the hinged door S is swung up and secured. Each narrow boardN is then turned up edgewise, which prevents the droppings from falling down between the edges of the Wide boards while the boards are being moved.

The boards are then pushed partly through roo the open doorway at the side and tilted down, so as to empty the droppings into a wagon,

When closed, the door is se- 9o which is driven along to the side of the house. This operation is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It will be seen that the roosts are so arranged as not to interfere with the boards as they are being tilted down into the wagon.

The lower room under the upper floor can be used as a feed-room in bad or cold weather, and boxes of lime, gravel, eoal-cinders, and feed can be stored in it, thus making a convenient storageroom.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily understood. It will be seen that it is exceedingly convenient in use, that it can be readily cleaned and kept clean, and that it can be kept well ventilated at all times. The hens can be kept perfectly healthy with but little trouble and expense.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim, and desire to 'secure by Letters Patent, i'S-' 1. In a hen-house, the combination, with the elevatedentrance E, of the combined stairway rand nest-boxes composed of the horizontal boards H, of different lengths, the vertical partition-boards I, formed with the openings z',

and the rear boards J, formed with the openings j, substantially as set forth.

2. In abheneh'ouse the combination,with the floor M N, 'of the ll-shaped supports O O, formed with the notches o,` the hanger P, and the removable roost-bars W, substantially as set forth.

3. In a hen-house, the combination of the hinged longitudinal door S and the lever T, centrally pivoted to the inner side of the said door and formed with the wide end and the narrow end t, substantially as set forth.

4. In a hen-house, the combination of the hinged longitudinal door, the centrally-pivoted lever having the narrow and the wide ends, and the strip U, substantially as set forth.

5. In a hen-house, the combination, with the joists, of the door composed of the loose Wide planks and the narrow upper planks and the longitudinal door, substantially as set forth.

6. In a hen-house, the combination of the notched V-shaped supports, the roostfbars, the floor composed of the loose wide lowerboards and narrow upper boards, and the longitudinal door, substantially 'as set forth.

7. In a hen-house, the combination, with the entrance, of the combined 'stairway and nestboxes, the stairway leading from the l same to the upper floor, the floor composed of the loose wide lower boards and the narrow upper boards, the notched V-shaped supports, the removable roost-bars, and the hinged door having the pivoted lever, substantially as set fIth.

WILLIAM P. WORTH, JACOB SCHWEGEL. 

